Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, said on Thursday that the safety and security of UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers is now increasingly in jeopardy.
Speaking to the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, Lacroix said UNIFIL operational activities have virtually come to a halt since 23 September, according to Reuters.
“UNIFIL is mandated to support the implementation of resolution 1701, but we must insist that it is for the parties themselves to implement the provisions of this resolution,” he noted.
Earlier, UNIFIL said in a statement that the Israeli forces “deliberately” fired at three UN positions in the south of Lebanon on Wednesday and Thursday, injuring two peacekeepers.
The United Nations peacekeepers were deployed to patrol Lebanon's border with Israel in 1978 after Israel clashed with Palestinian armed factions stationed in the south of Lebanon.
The mandate for the operation - known as the UN Interim Force in Lebanon or UNIFIL - is renewed annually by the 15-member UN Security Council.
The mission’s mandate had to be adjusted due to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and after the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000.
The mandate was expanded with Resolution 1701 following the 2006 war.
In mid-September, Israel said it began the transfer of military weight to the northern front.
Since September 23, Israel has intensified its airstrikes in Lebanon, particularly on Hezbollah strongholds in the south and east of the country and in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
On September 30, the Israeli army said it began a “limited, localized and targeted” ground operation in southern Lebanon based on precise intelligence against Hezbollah targets and infrastructure.
